While there seems to be little room (and even less money) for a huge, groundbreaking deal, Captain said there will be some opportunities for things to buy.

Captain gave a number of scenarios, including that European companies might want to make niche buys of U.S.-based shops and also, that despite currency concerns, U.S. companies still see some room to expand outside their borders.

Why? Many countries won’t do business with companies that don’t have a presence within their borders, so a company may want to make itself part of one thing, gaining it the flexibility to bid on another bit of possibly more lucrative business.

Aero and Defense is the final Reuters summit of the year. In 2008, Reuters has had 33 summits around the globe and have as many or more planned for 2009. Our previous gathering, Reuters Investment Outlook Summit, provided clients with an excellent look at how to manage through what will certainly be a challenging 2009.